In Memoriam
Artist
John Taylor Arms
(American, 1887 - 1953)
Date1939
MediumEtching
Dimensions14 11/16 × 12 in. (37.3 × 30.5 cm)
Sheet Dimension: 20 x 15 1/8
Mat: 20 x 24
Sheet Dimension: 20 x 15 1/8
Mat: 20 x 24
ClassificationsIntaglio
Credit LineHarriet Russell Stanley Fund
Terms
Object number1942.33
DescriptionArms avid interest in medieval architecture and, in particular, French Gothic Cathedrals, is apparent in one of his most complex etchings, "In Memoriam". Arms dedicated this etching to his mother-in-law on its publication in 1939 after her death in 1938. He deftly combined technical mastery with a meticulous attention to the detail and design of the extensive sculptural programs, stained glass windows, and other architectural features which adorn Chartres' north portal. The spectacular precision of the image lends it an other-worldly mood in which the cathedral seems isolated from our daily existence. A very religious man, Arms sought to convey to the viewer the expression of the divine or spiritual which he found in the mortar, stone, and massiveness of Chartres. Void of any human figures, domestic architecture, or spontaneity, Arms infused "In Memoriam" with a mystical spirituality and eerie, surreal silence which he elevated to a higher realm of existence. Arms cast dramatic differences between light and shade on the church's portal and contrasted the dark columned canopy over the porch with the sunbathed steps in the foreground. By lowering the vantage point and creating an oblique perspective, he emphasized the enduring quality and glory of Chartres (constructed between 1194 and 1260) which towers above the city as a monument to God. Arms was so impressed by the church that he remarked:
To attempt to describe anything so beautiful, so much the most perfect thing of its kind, as the north portal of the Cathedral of Chartres, is useless for me. It represents, to my mind at least, man's supreme spiritual achievement in stone and mortar, the last word in his effort to embody in a building his own aspirations and emotions. It is the most perfect part of the most perfect church in the world.
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